In this episode of Learning Uncut Elevate, Michelle Ockers speaks with Catherine Lombardozzi about her latest research with the Learning Guild, which explores how leadership development strategies are evolving. Catherine set out to understand what’s changing in leadership development and how organisations are adapting to post-pandemic realities. Her findings highlight three key shifts: greater emphasis on experiential learning, more sustained and blended approaches, and an increasing focus on re...
Apr 14, 2025•31 min
Australia has a critical structural engineering skills shortage, yet many qualified graduates and migrant engineers struggle to find jobs. In this episode, Michelle Ockers talks to Moly Ashtari and Alex Jovanovski, co-founders of Learnpedia. Moly shares her personal challenges as a migrant engineer seeking local experience. Alex highlights difficulties small businesses face hiring skilled engineers. They discuss creating Learnpedia to provide project-based traineeships combining real-world proje...
Apr 07, 2025•45 min
Australia’s tech sector faces a critical skills gap. Women – who make up just 30% of the tech workforce – represent the largest untapped talent pool to close this gap. Michelle Ockers speaks with Kade Brown from RMIT Online and Rhiannon Yetsenga from Deloitte Access Economics about their latest research report into skills and talent diversity in Australia’s tech workforce. They explore the key findings of the report, including the scale of the skills gap, why women are the biggest untapped oppor...
Mar 31, 2025•49 min
Mar 24, 2025•47 min
The 2025 Global Sentiment Report has been released, capturing the pulse of L&D professionals worldwide. In this episode, Michelle Ockers speaks with Donald H Taylor about the key findings and what they reveal about what L&D is paying attention to in 2025. AI continues to dominate conversations, but there’s also continued interest in skills and data, with the creating value on the rise again. Don shares insights on why these trends matter, how they vary across different regions, and what L&D prof...
Mar 17, 2025•33 min
Ryan Byrne, Senior Manager of Capability and Learning at Sydney Trains joins host Michelle Ockers to discusses the "First Impressions Count" performance campaign. This campaign focused on enhancing customer service through station cleanliness, uniform standards and empowering and engaging staff. Ryan shares insights on using employee feedback to identify barriers and build respectful, actionable solutions. He also highlights how Sydney Trains engaged staff via competitions, incentives, and real-...
Mar 10, 2025•47 min
In this episode of Learning Uncut, Michelle Ockers and co-host Laura Overton are joined by Lisa Christensen, Director of Learning at McKinsey, to explore the organisation's innovative approach to enhancing feedback skills. Lisa introduces the Receive to Grow program, a targeted initiative designed to help employees build the skill of receiving feedback effectively - a critical competency in McKinsey's fast-paced and high-performance culture. Lisa delves into McKinsey's broader feedback surge str...
Feb 24, 2025•52 min
Michelle Ockers is joined by Dr. Cathryn Lloyd, founder of Maverick Minds, to explore how L&D professionals can shift their thinking and support others to shift their thinking. Cathryn shares how her own experiences of personal and professional transformation led to her work in helping individuals and organisations think differently. They discuss why shifting thinking is crucial for L&D professionals who are responsible for supporting learning, change, and capability-building in their organisati...
Feb 17, 2025•34 min
In this episode of Learning Uncut, Catherine Sharpe (Blackmores) and Mark Eggers (Yarno) join Michelle Ockers to discuss their award-winning learning solution. Recognised at the AITD 2024 Excellence Awards for both Best Use of Technology for Learning and Best Use of Gamification or Simulation, their initiative tackled the challenge of embedding financial acumen across Blackmores’ diverse, multilingual workforce. Catherine and Mark share insights on leveraging gamification, microlearning, and dat...
Feb 10, 2025•44 min
In this episode of Learning Uncut, Millie Law discusses a highly successful blended learning initiative at ANZ Bank that won the 2024 AITD award for best blended learning solution. The program focused on developing business development capabilities among home lending specialists. The solution combined self-paced learning, peer workshops, and practical application, with strong support from internal coaches. Through careful performance consulting, collaboration and a focus on mindset shifts, the p...
Jan 27, 2025•51 min
In this special episode of Learning Uncut, Michelle Ockers presents an AI playbook for Learning and Development professionals. Drawing from conversations with industry practitioners throughout 2024, she distills key principles and practices for implementing AI effectively in L&D. The episode explores how organizations can move beyond the hype to create real value with AI, offering practical guidance whether you're just starting your AI journey or looking to scale existing initiatives. A reflecti...
Jan 20, 2025•30 min
In this special end-of-year episode, Michelle Ockers and Chemène Sinson reflect on the key themes explored in the 2024 Learning Uncut podcast episodes and connect them to broader trends and conversations in L&D. This year’s standout themes include moving from talk to action with AI, adopting skills-based approaches, fostering community and collaboration, and driving real behaviour change. Underpinning it all is the vital interplay between humanity and technology. From stories of professional gro...
Dec 16, 2024•49 min
This episode of Learning Uncut offers a rare ‘before and after’ look at the design, execution, and outcomes of a workplace learning campaign. Michelle Ockers speaks with Matthew Murray, VP of Digital Learning, and Sydney Cannon, Senior Manager of Learning Engagement at Bain & Company, about their October Skills Boost campaign. The episode starts by exploring exploration their low-resource, email-driven approach to fostering self-directed learning among functional professionals. Seven weeks later...
Dec 02, 2024•57 min
In this episode of Learning Uncut, Michelle Ockers is joined by Adam Le Nevez and Adrian Manning from the Australian Public Service (APS). They explore how the APS L&D Community of Practice (CoP) fosters collaboration amongst L&D teams across over 100 agencies. They discuss the unique challenges of building capability in a decentralised system with over 170,000 employees and how the CoP helps reduce duplication, share best practices, and build professional networks. They also highlight the impor...
Nov 04, 2024•48 min
Michelle Ockers speaks with Cameron Hedrick, Chief Learning Officer at Citi, about the complexities and opportunities of skills portfolio management. Cameron shares his insights on moving beyond traditional job roles to focus on skills as organisational assets, and how this shift can enhance workforce planning, internal mobility, and overall business resilience. They discuss the challenges of implementing skills management at scale, from building dynamic skills taxonomies to integrating multiple...
Oct 19, 2024•40 min
In this episode of Learning Uncut, Michelle Ockers is joined by Brad Hodge, health innovator and educator at La Trobe University, to explore the role of generative AI in modern education, particularly in the rural health sector. Brad shares his journey in health innovation and how he is using AI, including chatbots, to enhance student support, drive behavior change, and foster innovation. They delve into the challenges of rural healthcare education, the potential of AI to impact learning outcome...
Oct 07, 2024•55 min
Michelle Ockers is joined by Dr Thomas J. Tobin to explore the application of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in an organisational context. They discuss how Learning and Development can act as a catalyst for fostering a culture that prioritises inclusivity in both design and content delivery. Tom shares his journey into UDL and explains why these principles are vital not just for the minority, but for the majority of learners. The conversation covers who is responsible for applying UDL princ...
Sep 23, 2024•50 min
In this episode of Learning Uncut, Lozanne Pretorius discusses how Mitsubishi Motors Australia has used the MiCareerTrak program to foster a customer-centric culture in an industry facing rapid technological and customer expectation changes. She explains how the program was designed to build adaptive skills and resilience, essential for navigating the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world of work. By positioning learning and development as a strategic pillar, the organisation ...
Sep 09, 2024•46 min
Pauline Rebourgeon and Peter Sheppard from Ericsson discuss how they are innovating with AI for learning and development. They outline how Ericsson's Learning NEXT community fosters a culture of experimentation with emerging technologies to support learning and development. Pauline and Peter discuss the importance of community in scaling these efforts, and the strategic balance between quick wins and long-term impact. The episode highlights practical examples such as AI-based translation and coa...
Aug 26, 2024•46 min
David Kelly, Chairman of the Learning Guild, joins Michelle Ockers to discuss how to make sense of technology trends as an L&D professional. Their discussion explores why trends matter and how to stay abreast of trends, including attending conferences, how to find experts to follow online, and leveraging your network. They also discuss how to think critically about trends and make better choices about what to experiment with and use. This episode will leave you with practical approaches to stay ...
Aug 19, 2024•37 min
Henriette Kloots and Evitha Scharloo, Co-founders of Interlocked, join Michelle Ockers to discuss the World of L&D and the World of Impact Maps. These maps use associative cartography to visualise the journey from learning to performance and impact. The World of L&D Map creates a tangible common language that prompts effective analysis within L&D teams, helping members to collectively shape their transition from order takers to performance partners. The World of Impact Map enables teams to enhan...
Aug 12, 2024•49 min
Mehri Doyle joins Michelle Ockers to discuss the use of small private online courses (SPOC) at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. These online courses have a focus on social learning with the use of online asynchronous community through educators and peer collaboration. This program has had great success, increasing reach of learning resources 10-fold, receiving recognition through being awarded Best Capability Program by Australian Institute of Training and Development in 2021...
Jul 29, 2024•44 min
Sonali D’Silva joins Michelle Ockers to discuss the importance of psychological safety for learning. Their discussion commences research backed benefits of fostering psychological safety both in individual teams and across the organisation as a whole. They then delve into five key strategies for fostering psychological safety in learning environments. This episode will leave you with practical approaches to promote psychological safety as an L&D practitioner. Hosted by Michelle Ockers Transcript...
Jul 22, 2024•35 min
Dan Redman joins Michelle Ockers to discuss the development and implementation of a conversational AI coaching tool to improve performance in HSBC's contact centres. The tool has largely replaced face-to-face role plays with AI-powered simulations. This provides employees with a safe environment for on-demand skill practice with immediate AI feedback, and the option of sharing with managers for additional feedback. Host: Michelle Ockers Transcript and related resources: https://learninguncut.glo...
Jul 15, 2024•42 min
Dinye Hernanda joins Michelle Ockers to discuss her experiences as a learning and development professional in the start-up and scale-up space. They explore the main challenges that arise across key stages of start-ups, delving into the specifics of the onboarding process. Dinye shares her 70/30 approach to skill development and provides a real-world example of how L&D professionals can shift the narrative to gain key stakeholder buy-in. Finally, Dinye shares what corporate L&D professionals can ...
Jul 01, 2024•53 min
Chemène Sinson and Michelle Ockers recap their experiences at the 2024 Australian Institute of Training and Development (AITD) Conference. They reflect on key themes such as collaboration, inclusion, learning design and the impact of AI on the future of learning and development. The conversation highlights standout sessions and speakers including both keynotes and case studies. Chemène and Michelle also discuss the enriching networking opportunities and how they will apply what they learned. Hos...
Jun 24, 2024•36 min
Peter Sheppard discusses Ericsson’s transformation into a skills-based organization and how it has positioned Ericsson to put skills to work. Ericsson is leveraging skills to create visible simplicity and streamline the employee experience. This transformation has led to improved retention, inclusion, accessibility, and enhanced career progression and recruitment. Peter also shares insights into how his team achieved this significant project, the challenges they encountered, and the key lessons ...
Jun 17, 2024•44 min•Ep. 1
Nigel Paine joins Michelle Ockers to discuss the importance and methodologies of fieldwork in leaning and development. The discussion focuses on identifying when fieldwork is necessary and how it can effectively uncover barriers and solve problems. Through practical real-world examples and high-value questions, this episode will leave you with applicable insights to get started or improve your fieldwork. Hosted by Michelle Ockers Transcript and related resources: https://learninguncut.global/pod...
Jun 10, 2024•24 min
In this episode of Learning Uncut, Michelle Ockers is joined by Donald H Taylor and Egle Vinauskaite to discuss their research report ‘AI in L&D: From Talk to Action’. This episode is filled with insight and actionable takeaways on the pitfalls and opportunities of AI utilisation in learning and development. This discussion includes the most fundamental things you can do to use AI to its full extent, how you and your team can ensure you are future ready, and some of the possibilities for future ...
Jun 03, 2024•48 min
Michelle Parry-Slater joins Michelle Ockers to discuss why effective compliance learning is crucial and how it can be transformed into a valuable learning experience. Illustrated with real-world examples, we discuss how to ensure that compliance learning is relevant, engaging and effective in driving required behaviours and an interest in further learning in your organisation. Hosted by Michelle Ockers Transcript and related resources: https://learninguncut.global/podcast/ elevate-35/ Podcast in...
May 27, 2024•33 min
